Throughout the campaign for Town Council, the Independents argued that they’ve done enough work in the past 10 months to earn another big victory at the ballot box. Resurrecting some of the themes that first propelled two Independent candidates to victory four years ago, the Independents vowed to make government more transparent, efficient, and equitable for every resident.
For the second year in a row, that message resonated with the voters, who delivered a sweeping victory to Independent candidates Gary Jeffas (1st Ward), James Clancy (2nd Ward), and Susan Pirro (3rd Ward). All three candidates defeated their Democratic opponents by wide margins, even bigger margins than the ones received by the Independents last fall when mayoral candidate Michael Gonnelli led his entire ticket to victory.
With the local Democratic Party weak, divided, in disarray – and banished from the council – Gonnelli and Co. now have a political mandate, carte blanche to exercise their agenda.
Political mandates come with both opportunities to create change and the potential for abuse.
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The 11-month-old administration has spent much of its time this year combing through municipal finances, trying to account for every dollar raised and spent. Thus far, these inquiries have uncovered $750,000 in uncollected fines owed to the municipality, $6 million in outstanding special assessment fees that were never paid, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost grant money that never came in the door.
And then there’s the Tax Collector case, in which $777,725 in property tax payments were allegedly stolen by an employee over a period of several years. The alleged thefts in that office came to light a year before the Independents took control of the Town Council.
These inquiries speak to both the promise and peril of political mandates. Without the broad backing of many voters in the Secaucus electorate, and a strong mayoral administration in office, a councilman like 2nd Ward rep John Bueckner – who for many years was the lone Independent on the governing body – could never have uncovered such financial losses on his own.
At the same time, much of the lost income that was uncovered slipped away at a time when another popular administration – the administration of former Mayor Dennis Elwell – had the same political power Gonnelli now enjoys.
‘Keep the change going’
The Independents say they are aware of the double-edged sword that comes with their political victories.
“I think people feel the town is being taken in the right direction, and they want to make sure that keeps happening,” Jeffas said on Election Night from the Crowne Plaza Hotel, where the Independents held their victory celebration.
“I think people were extremely happy with the change that occurred from the last election and over the past year, and actually the change that began four years ago with the initial victories of the Independents in 2006,” Jeffas continued later. “I think we won because of the policies, the programs, the people’s desires to keep the change going.”
Clancy agreed.
“We’ve accomplished a lot in 10 months and the people of Secaucus have seen that those accomplishments – keeping taxes low, for example – are to the benefit of all of the people in Secaucus, not just to the benefit of a few,” said the 2nd Ward councilman. “We’ve really been able to stay focused on the needs of the town, the entire town, all of the residents…The residents see that the town is on the right track, we’re going in the right direction. If we had lost sight of what’s in the best interest of our community, you wouldn’t have seen the [election] results we’ve seen.”
Both councilmen added that there are neighborhoods in Secaucus that were neglected for years that have only recently started to see capital improvements.
When asked whether the politically-allied Independents will be able to maintain their focus long term, Pirro said, “Absolutely. We ran together. We supported each other politically. But the mayor has made it clear, once you’re on the council you’re an independent voice, an independent thinker. He wants everybody to think for themselves and say what they really believe. There’s no requirement that we always vote the same way on the council just because we supported each other during an election.”
Awake at the switch?
This independence, the mayor and his allies insisted, serves as its own check on the administration’s power, even in the absence of political diversity on the Town Council.
“There are still checks and balances [on the administration] because if you come to our caucus meetings, there’s a lot of discussion and disagreement and a lot of talk about what is the best thing to do,” Jeffas noted. “We speak our minds. I think the people see that because they overwhelmingly voted for an Independent totality on the council. So, I think the people of Secaucus know that we’re independent in our thinking enough to make sure that we’re weighing the pros and cons of every decision.”
The mayor said he has been “ripped to shreds in some of our caucus meetings…There are some things I’d like to do but can’t because I know I don’t have the support of the council.”
A week after the election Gonnelli added that other checks have been added that will make the local government in Secaucus more accountable.
“Not everything [that has happened] was Dennis’ fault, or the fault of the Democratic Town Council,” the mayor reflected. “Other people, for example our department heads, have to be accountable, too. When you talk about those problems we uncovered, there were a lot of people asleep at the switch.”
Noting that he’s a full-time mayor who gets in to work before most department heads arrive, and who leaves after most clock out, Gonnelli said, “Everybody needs to be held accountable. The voters put me, put us in office, I feel, to make sure that that accountability happens. Government isn’t just about the mayor and council. Everybody [in Town Hall] has a responsibility. And holding everybody accountable serves as its own check.”
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.